G.O.A.L.S.

Week 1:

I plan on kicking off Earth month by focusing on my own food waste and the food waste of those close to me. In order to work on the problem whole heartedly, I need to make sure that I am not being a hypocrite.
Week 2:

I plan to design posters on food waste in America. Most of the difficulty will come from finding facts that put the problem in perspective for college students. I will use trusted sites that provide accurate information on the subjects.

Week 3:

I plan to hang up the previously designed posters on all floors of Morrill Tower. The most difficult aspect this week will be finding out who I need to ask in order to be able to hang up the posters. The posters will be hung by the elevators on each floor so that people can look at them when they are waiting for the elevator.

Week 4:

I plan to find a nonprofit to volunteer for. The challenge of this will be transportation to the volunteer location and time. Another challenge with this will be choosing which nonprofit in Columbus to volunteer for.

Both of the in-class speakers made me realize just how important volunteers are to the non-profits world. Without the unpaid manpower of volunteers, the non-profits would not be able to do the work they do. Also, the speakers made me realize that sometimes you just have to go and ask non-profits if there are any ways to help them or to work for them. Moving forward, I need to consider how I am going to get people to care enough about food waste to volunteer their time and effort to decreasing it.  My biggest takeaway from the class was that if there are people who care about your issue than it is easier to get people involved. This means that I will have to find a way get people to understand the complex issue of food waste and to get those people to care enough to do something about it.  Also, I learned that separate issues can impact your issue even if they are not commonly thought of as connected. That is why non-profits and companies need to stick together and help each other to improve the overall quality of the community and the world.

I would like to educate people on the facts behind food waste in America and how food can be used to feed America instead of being wasted. I also would like to educate people on what each label on food really means. For example, best by date does not mean that once it passes that date it is spoiled. I also want to make people aware that there are nonprofits that you can volunteer with in order to help decrease food waste.

Part 1

Nonprofits are currently working to collect food that would go to waste and then give that food to people who would go hungry without it. These nonprofits work both on the college level and the local level. The organizations work to tackle both the problem of food waste and of hunger. One of the popular nonprofits is a college based program that has a chapter that opened here in November 2016. The Ohio State chapter of Food Recovery Network is small right now. Students could contact the contact person for their local chapter. The chapter for Ohio State works with another nonprofit, the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, to tackle the hunger side of the problem. This is the only nonprofit locally that tackles the issue of food waste in Columbus.

The most important thing to consider when looking at food waste through the nonprofit lens is to remember that fixing the problem of food waste cannot be accomplished without help from other nonprofits that work on fixing the problem of hunger.

The nonprofits that are tackling food waste are doing work on three levels of the model. On the personally responsible citizen level, the nonprofits are donating the food that is about to expire to other nonprofits that redistribute the food to the hungry. On the participatory citizen level, the nonprofits offer a place that people and companies can donate their about to expire food. On the social-justice citizen level, the nonprofits offer a fix to the food waste problem by allowing people to have a place to give their food to instead of just throwing it out. The food that people throw out accounts for a good amount of the food waste that America produces. Nonprofits have not been able to tackle the food waste that is produced from people not finishing their meals at restaurants.

Part 2

I watched the TEDx Talk video, “A recipe for cutting food waste” by Peter Lehner. Peter used to climb mountains and was always conscious of using the last drop of every food item that he came in contact with. This changed when he stopped climbing mountains. Peter shared that 40 percent of food grown in America is not eaten. More energy efficient technology came about because of ordinary people pushing the government to design better programs to encourage businesses to create better products. This can be translated in how to solve the food waste crisis. Peter suggests that food produced that is not up to the visual standards of the customer be sold at discount prices to organizations that use it to create products. Another solution is to standardize the labeling on the food packaging. Companies can also donate their unused food to nonprofits instead of wasting it. Another way to handle food waste is to composite it instead of sending it to landfills. Peter also shared some tips on how consumers can cut down on their individual food waste. Peter also urged that food waste should be measured so that it can be tracked and decreased over time. Overall, Peter shared a lot of good tips on tackling the complex issue that is food waste.

The speakers made me think about the difficulty of community organizing. Both of the speakers seemed passionate about their topics and because of that, they personally did not find it hard to get others to care about their issues. Making flyers like Greg Pace did might be a good option for spreading the information about food waste in America that might lead to getting people’s attention. Showing people how much food is wasted and how not wasting food can be beneficial is similar to Jessica Mathews’ approach. My biggest takeaway from their talks was that anyone who is passionate about an issue can become a community organizer. They both were just average citizens that saw a problem and found a solution to fix that problem.

After the discussion and my initial thoughts, I plan on hanging flyers in order to get people to recognize that food waste in America is a problem. Opportunistic places to post these flyers include anywhere that a large amount of people will read them, for example outside of the elevators in Morrill. When people wait for the elevators they can read the flyer. Once people are actually aware of the issue of food waste in America it will help to decrease food waste. Then people can come together to work towards spreading the awareness of food waste to other areas of Columbus. Once people are aware how big the issue is, I believe that there will be more studies done on the topic and we will see a decrease in the amount of food waste produced per year.

Part 1:

In order to decrease the amount of food waste, the community must be organized in order for the task to be successful. There are many different community organizers directly handling the topic of food waste. None of these community organizers, however, are located in Ohio. The majority of the community organizers are located on the East and West coasts or in Europe. The lack of community organizers tackling food waste in Ohio leaves an opening for new community organizers to tackle the issue in our community. The challenge of participating in community organizing is getting people to participate and care about food waste. A lot of people in America do not understand how big the problem of food waste is.  It is important to remember that people care about things that directly impact them. In order to do this, food waste has to be connected to issues such as its environmental impact and its overall impact on the world’s food crisis.

There is work being done on all three levels of the Justice-Oriented Citizen Model. The personally responsible citizen does their best to not waste food or let food spoil and go to waste. A participatory citizen puts up signs and talks to others around them to decrease their food waste. A social-justice oriented citizen explores the reasons behind food waste. The current cultural structure of America is one of waste and excess. The social-justice oriented citizen would work to educate the people on the impact of culture on food waste. They would also explain food waste in a way that is important to the people in order to rally them.

Part 2:

The Tedx Talk I watched was titled “Community organizing, say whaattt??” by Ray Friedlander. Ray is a community organizer for an environmental company in a small community in Alaska. In her Tedx Talk, Ray talked about how community organizing is a practice that brings together people in the community for a common goal. The people that are working towards that goal, the more power that group has. Ray used the example of restoring an old college building, that housed the Tedx Talk, to a working, successful building. Before the community came together, the building was old and falling apart. The community in Sitka worked together to make the building usable again. Ray also talked about how her own background and people in her life changed her from a shy girl to a community organizer and environmentalist. Ray encourages everyone to become community organizers or involved within their community. Ray says that if you want to change something you can work on it and get others to join you on the things you want to change. Rays talk overall was inspirational. Her personal experience with community organizing shows that anyone can change the way things are if they have enough commitment and put enough hard work towards the goal. Though the Tedx Talk did not directly cover food waste it did talk about environmental issues, impacting Alaska and food waste in its core is an environmental problem.

 

The extreme food waste that occurs in first world countries, especially the United States is a major problem. According to politifact.com people who live in wealthier countries waste 15 times more food than those in poor countries. The practice of food waste is not sustainable and needs to be addressed. Food waste puts a strain on the Environmental, Societal and Economic aspects of sustainability. Food waste causes the environment stress by requiring more water and land in order to produce unwanted food. Economically, food waste is expensive and decreasing it could lead to saving money. Food that was thrown out in richer countries could be used to feed those who are not as fortunate. I’m considering food waste because of its scope and its importance across the three pillars of sustainability. Food waste in countries like the United States is a large issue that impacts everyone.

Political accountability is another important issue that needs to be tackled in the future. Too many times the politicians on a local and national level make campaign promises in order to get elected. After winning many of them do not fulfill their promises or even attempt to fulfill them.  I chose to consider this issue because politicians being held accountable for their words can lead to an improvement in other environmental, economic and societal issues. Politicians not keeping their campaign promises is not sustainable because of its negative impacts in the Society and Economic categories. The people are being let down and are not getting everything that the politicians promised them. This leads to a deeper lack of trust of politicians and an altogether lack in politics. Legislation can often times either help or hurt the economy. Politicians can use legislation to stimulate economic and job growth. Politicians keeping their promises on environmental issues could be a positive thing that could lead to a more environmentally aware country. It is important for politicians to be held accountable for their words and actions in order to become a more environmentally aware and successful country.

The lack of safe and sustainable water is an important issue all across the world. Water is a necessity of life and many places do not have that clean, safe water. Though this is normally seen as an issue only in poor countries, safe drinking water being unavailable is even an issue in the United States. Lack of close water in poorer countries often pulls children away from school or their families because the trip is an all day task. I considered water dispersion because without safe water it is impossible to live. The lack of water causes societal issues. Lack of water puts stress on families on how to obtain water and who’s job it is to do so. Unsafe water can be caused by many issues one, all of them environmentally concerning. If people don’t have to worry about obtaining safe, usable water they can get jobs or go to school. This hinders the economy because the people have less of an opportunity to work and make more money. Water is important for all life and not having a safe, close source of water can lead to a multitude of issues.

I chose to do the topic of food waste in rich countries, such as the United States. I intend to continue my research on the amount of food waste in America. I believe that I will run into many issues during the time I am attempting to tackle this issue. One problem I might run into is how to go beyond simply wasting food myself to being a justice-oriented citizen. Though it will not be easy to cut down on my own food waste, I will try my best to do so while encouraging others to do the same. Another issue would be how to convince other people the severity of the issue. People tend to not think about how much food the United States throws away each year. People tend to have a rough time seeing how the same amount of waste that they waste adds up over their lifetime. Also how if every one cut down on their waste it would decrease the overall waste of the country.

One Line Coffee

I went to One Line Coffee on a Sunday morning in search of a place to escape and be productive. I found what I was looking for. The place was modern and had amazing old music playing that made me feel pumped to do work. Its modern feel made me feel relaxed and comfortable. I ordered a chai tea latte, my favorite drink, and sat down to do my work. One Line Coffee only provided an hour of free wifi, a downfall for the customers but a smart business move due to its smaller size. The chai latte was not the best one that I have had before. It was entirely cream and left me thirsty after drinking it. Though it lacked in quality drinks it definitely made up for it overall. I learned that the environment of a place can go a long way. I would recommend it as a place to catch up, though I would not recommend the chai tea latte.

Mission Coffee

I went to Mission Coffee on a Sunday afternoon looking for some a good chai latte and a place to get some Calculus homework done. The atmosphere was relaxing and comfortable. The chai tea was good, but not amazing. The medium size only came in a paper cup, though a larger size mug was offered as a more expensive option. The place was a little busy and loud so getting work done was difficult at times. The wifi was having difficulties when I was there so I had to do homework offline. I would recommend Mission coffee to anyone who is not easily distracted or is looking for a place to catch up with a friend after a long day.

ZenCha Tea Salon

I went to ZenCha Tea Salon with Chase Egner and Katie Quinlin. I ordered a lavender tea latte and really enjoyed it. It is a little bit of a pricey option but for tea-lovers, it is worth it. I would recommend this place to a fellow tea-lover. I learned that there is a lot of effort that goes into making loose leaf tea versus bagged tea. The atmosphere was really calming and the tea definitely helped.

Cup O Joe

I went to Cup O Joe with Sam Myer. I ordered a chocolate cake and a chai latte. Though the chai latte wasn’t amazing, the chocolate cake was really good. The price was affordable for both the cake and the chai latte. The atmosphere was warm and cozy. I would recommend this place to a friend who was looking for a nice cozy place to hang out with a friend or get some work done. My favorite things were the inviting fireplace and wall decorations of old newspapers. The cup was paper, detracting from the overall appeal of the place. I learned that coffee shops can have really good food even if their coffee is average.

Overall

My favorite coffee place was Cup O Joe for its atmosphere and food, but Impero for its chai tea latte. I learned how to navigate Columbus during this assignment. I want to explore the neighborhoods, shops and parks of Columbus next. I passed a few on my mission to discover coffee places and they looked interesting. I also talked to a few people who did other lists and they discovered interesting places that sounded intriguing to me. I recommend mapping out where the coffee shops are before trying to go to them.

I chose to do the Coffe and Tea list this semester. I’m looking forward to going to Mission Coffe and seeing all of the art that has been done by local artists. I hope to find good, quiet places to study when I am in desperate need of a change of scenery. Also, I’m looking for a place that I can meet up with my friends after a long day and just relax with a cup of tea or coffee. For my first experience, I went to Impero with Katie Quinlin and Chase Egner. The coffee shop was cute and had vinyl records in the background. I order a chai latte and got to sip it at the bar as my friends and I talked about our day. The chai latte was one of the best chai lattes that I have had in a long time. The barista was the only one working but he doubled as a DJ for he chose the music to play on the machine. I was confused about where to put my cup after I was finished. The shop had a small container under a table for used cups. I learned that taking a few minutes on a busy day to sip some tea and catch up with your friends can improve your day greatly. I would recommend Impero to any of my friends. The environment allowed for any objective from a friendly conversation to a working environment. Also, another plus is that Impero is only a short bus ride or walk away from the Union.